Caption: Alexandre Brongniart (1770-1847), French chemist, geologist and zoologist. From an early age, Brongniart was highly interested in natural sciences and was a founder of the Societe Philomatique (Philomatics Society) in 1788. He became a mining engineer in 1794 and a professor in natural history at l'Ecole centrale des Quatre-Nations in 1796. In 1800, he published Memoire sur l'Art de l'Emailleur (Memory on the Art of the Enameller). After this publication, he was appointed director of the Parisian porcelain company Manufacture de Sevres, a position that he held for 47 years until his death. Image taken from Grands Hommes et Grands Faits de l'Industrie (Great Men and Great Facts of Industry), France, circa 1880.